Families kidnapped in Gaza organized a protest against the military plans of Tel Aviv. Participation in the demonstration has reached tens of thousands, it is the largest protest action in Israel.
Tens of thousands of people went to the streets of Tel Aviv on Saturday to protest against the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to expand Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip and occupy Gaza. The protest was organized by an association of related Israeli hostages kidnapped by the Palestinian militant Hamas movement into the Gaza Strip in October 2023. Families fear that Israeli military plans will endanger the lives of detained. This is reported by TASR, referring to DPA and AFP.
AFP reporters estimated participation in a demonstration in Tel Aviv for several tens of thousands, while the organizers talked about up to 100,000 participants. The authorities did not provide their estimate of participation. AFP, however, noted that this protest was by far the largest of other anti -war protests in Israel in the past period.
Israeli government faces pressure
Netanyahu’s security cabinet approved the extension of the army operations and the occupation of Gaza on Friday, according to DPA with a likely aim to obtain control over the entire coast of the Gaza Strip. The army believes that Palestinian militants hold hostages in areas outside its control, including Gaza. According to the Israeli authorities, Palestinian radicals hold 50 more hostages, but only about 20 of them live.
The war in the Gaza Strip started the attack of Hamas and the related groups to the south of Israel on October 7, 2023. About 1,200 people died, and more than 250 hostages were taken by militants to the Gaza Strip. Israel answered extensive air attacks and a ground offensive to the Gaza Strip, which, according to the Ministry of Health, has claimed more than 61,000 dead. Recently, international pressure on the Israeli government has been increasing in connection with the high number of dead civilians and a fundamental deterioration in the humanitarian situation of the local population.
